If you’ve been following along, you hopefully have a great big pile of stuff somewhere in your house ready to be prepped for the sale on November 5th and you’re wondering what to do next. It’s time to get your tagging supplies ready.
The main thing that you need is CARDSTOCK. What is cardstock, you ask? Well, it’s like a very thick paper similar to what is used for recipe cards and business cards. It is much sturdier than regular paper as it won’t rip as easily. All price tags that you create absolutely MUST be printed on CARDSTOCK. It should be white or very lightly coloured and NOT textured. It should be 8.5 in x 11 in in size (regular paper size). Cardstock can be purchased at Michael’s, Wal-mart and Staples.
I checked out the price at Michael’s. You can purchase 50 sheets for $6.99 (even less if you use one of their coupons!). You can fit 8 price tags on each piece of cardstock. Therefore, this package would make 400 price tags.
Other supplies that we recommend include:
- Hangers – All clothing MUST be hung on hangers that you supply yourself. Any type of hanger is allowed and we encourage you to keep hangers whenever you purchase clothing at local stores to use in our sale. If you must purchase hangers, then you have a couple of options. Hangers are very inexpensive at Dollarama. I found 12 wire hangers for $2.
Grapevine purchased a bulk supply of white plastic hangers that you can also purchase. They are 4 for $1. If you would like to purchase some from us, please email us at cary@grapevineevents.ca. Alternatively, if you just need a few hangers, we will have them on hand for you to purchase on drop off day. Don’t expect to be able to purchase ALL your hangers from us on that day though as we will only have a limited amount. Reminder: We won’t be able to return your hangers to you (for sold items) after the sale, however, we will keep the hangers instead of sending them home with shoppers. All sellers are encouraged to grab a handful of hangers when the return to pick up their unsold items.
- Hole punch – A single hole punch is great to have on hand to punch a hole in the corner of the tag so it can easily be attached to the item. One can be purchased at Dollarama for $1.25.
- Pens and a black marker – If you use the “blank tag” method to create your price tags, you’ll need to manually write on the description of the item. A black marker works great if you decide after printing the price tag that you would like to donate that item if it doesn’t sell. Just note a uppercase D at the lower left corner of the price tag.
- Safety pins – Safety pins are the preferred method of attaching price tags to your clothing items (you can alternatively use a tagging gun but only if you are very careful to only attach your price tag on the tag or in the seam as they can cause holes). A package of 180 safety pins (of varying sizes) can be purchased at Dollarama for $1.25. Small safety pins are great for attaching price tags but you’ll also need bigger ones for attaching pants/skirts to regular hangers (if you don’t have a pants hanger). I found a package of 50 big safety pins for $6.99 at Michael’s.
- String or yarn – String or yarn is another great way to attach price tags to items, especially more delicate pieces of home décor and women’s accessories. I found some at Dollarama for $1.25.
- Packing tape – Packing tape is essential. It’s a great way to attach tags to DVDs, CDs and books (if you aren’t worried about damage) as well as bigger home décor items (likely on the back). Also, if you are packaging multiple items in a ziploc bag, it can be used to tape the bag shut (which is required). Packing tape can be purchased at Dollarama for $1.50.
- Zip ties – Zip ties (also known as cable ties) are another great tool for attaching price tags to items as well as attaching items from a set together. The great thing about zip ties is that they can’t easily be removed or come off. You can purchase 40 zip ties from Dollarama for $1.25.
- Ziploc bags – As mentioned above, Ziploc bags are a great way to group similar items together. You can purchase 50 sandwich-size or 20 large bags for $1.25 at Dollarama.
So that list should just about cover it! Likely you can find most of those items around the house so start gathering them up and make a list of what else you need.
Next week, we’ll cover how to create your price tags! There might even be a video or two!
Cary and Jenna